Eight die as Champion bus overturns

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam

By Daily News Reporter

Eight people died on the spot and 53 others injured when Champion Bus which was heading to Dar es Salaam from Mwanza overturned in Dodoma on Tuesday following tire burst.

Dodoma Regional Police Commander (RPC), Mr Stephen Zelothe, said the accident occurred at around 2.30pm, about 13 kilometres from Dodoma Municipality.

“Both front tires ruptured and the bus turned over twice,” said Mr Zelothe, adding that initial investigations showed that the accident was caused by over speeding.

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Mwanza radio fights domestic violence

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam

By JAFFAR MJASIRI

AFYA Radio FM, which is based in Mwanza, advocates for psychological, social and physical well-being of residents in the Lake Regions. It has recently introduced Citizen Journalism training for domestic workers in a quest to boost coverage on domestic violence.

Some media experts describe citizen journalism as a new philosophy which aims at training ordinary people to report events happening in their communities. It is another way of creating whistleblowers.

Speaking to the 'Daily News on Saturday' in an exclusive interview, the Director of the FM radio, Dr Joseph Kavit, said that besides the programmes addressing social issues that can bring psychological problems that often culminate in mental disorder, it continues focusing on domestic violence.

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Why patients rush for miracle cure?

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam

By Ray Naluyaga, The Citizen Bureau Chief

Mwanza. Lack of human resources in the health sector has been blamed for the rise in dubious miracle cures of chronic diseases in the country as patients opt for them.

This was said yesterday by the president of the Medical Doctors Association of Tanzania (MAT), Dr Namala Mkopi. He was briefing journalists on the association’s two-day annual general meeting being held at the Weil Bugando Hospital from today.

He said the scarcity has led to the diseases accounting for 60 to 70 per cent of all diseases in the country.

Dr Mkopi said after MAT noticing the problem growing bigger with little attention paid to it, they have decided to dedicate this year’s AGM to addressing it.

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Airtel bankrolls Rock city Marathon

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam

By DAILY NEWS Reporter

AIRTEL Tanzania has come forward to sponsor this year’s Rock City Marathon which will be held on next Sunday at CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza at a tune of 15m/-.

Airtel’s Public Relations Manager Jackson Mbando said on Thursday that the sponsorship is the company’s appreciation on the role of sports it is playing in support of the economy.

He added that the company was also committed to ensure the local athletes excel by giving them a chance to display their skills.

“We are happy to be associated with this event which taking roots since it‘s inception two years ago”, he said.

He said that the sponsorship covers cash and promotional materials such as T-Shirts, caps and banners.

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Mwanza launches new HIV/AIDS programme

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam

By DAILY NEWS Reporter

CHAMPION, a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has launched an HIV awareness and prevention programme for energy projects under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

Speaking during the launch in Mwanza, CHAMPION's Programme Officer for Work place Initiatives, Dr Andrew William, said the programme would oversee HIV and AIDS programming in the workplace and surrounding communities for MCC/MCA-T-supported transport, energy and water projects across nine regions.

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Tusks impounded at Z'bar port

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam

From ISSA YUSSUF in Zanzibar

POLICE and customs officers at Malindi port in Zanzibar, on Tuesday, intercepted and seized a shipment of elephant tusks.

The tusks allegedly originated from Mwanza and consigned to Malaysia via Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, according to Superintendent of Police (SP) Martin Lissu.

''We are still working on the two containers to find the exact number of pieces of ivory,'' SP Lissu said as security and custom officers emptied bags in search for the tusks.

It is estimated that more than 300 elephant tusks were packed in two containers.

He said police are holding two people in connection with the contraband shipped to Zanzibar aboard MV Bracc and stored for two weeks in the municipality.

Drilling starts at joint Stamico, TREC Buckreef project in Mwanza

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam

By DAILY NEWS Reporter

DRILLING has commenced at a Bauckreef project in Mwanza in which the State Mining Corporation entered into joint venture with Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corporation earlier this year to implement.

In a statement on Monday, TREC Chairman and Chief Operating Officer, Joseph Kahama said exploration for gold has reached an advanced stage while drilling for diamond is also under way.

Mr Kahama said in the statement that the Buckreef project has an estimated measured, 5.176 million tonnes grading 2.05 grams per ton with an indicated 24.97 million tonnes averaging 1.19 grams per ton and an inferred, 17.173 million tons grading 1.51 grams per ton.

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Kivulini, solace for victims of domestic violence fighting

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam

By JAFFAR MJASIRI just back from Mwanza

Human rights groups dealing with victims of domestic violence in the regions of Mwanza, Mara, Kagera, Shinyanga and Singida continue to support victims of that vile act through an effective network.

The programme officer Mr Zakaria Kulwa, said that Kivulini Women’s Right Organisation in Mwanza which supports other organizations dealing with domestic violence has continued to receive more cases of such cruel treatment of the fair sex on time and finding solutions.

He said that it was obvious women and domestic workers were now being able to understand their rights and turned out in large numbers to report such abuses. “We receive more than 10 cases of domestic violence everyday, which are registered by trained members of various networks including local government officials,” he said.

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Mwanza to host EA trade fair again

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam

From AUGUSTINE SANGI in Mwanza

THE 6th Mwanza East African Trade Fair is scheduled to be held at the Saba Saba Grounds at Ilemela for ten days, from August 26, this year.

Announcing this, the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) in Mwanza Region, Mr Joseph Kahungwa, told a news conference over the weekend that the theme of the fair is: "50 years of independence for business development in the country."

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Over 200 Mwanza residents to get power

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam

From CHRISTOPHER MAJALIWA in Dodoma

MORE than 200 residents in Mwanza will be supplied with electricity through Rural Energy Agency (REA) programme in this financial year, the Deputy Minister for Energy and Minerals, Mr Adam Malima said here yesterday.

Mr Malima said that the government through Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco), was looking for more funds to implement the project which was meant to ensure that rural areas still in darkness would be connected to the national grid.

Mr Malima was responding to a question raised by Festus Limbu, MP for Magu on CCM ticket, who enquired to know what efforts the government made to ensure that Ndagalu Division in Magu constituency gets electric power. The division has had no power for almost 50 years since independence.

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Why bustling Mwanza is sitting on a ticking time bomb

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam

By Ray Naluyaga

Just about ten years ago it was inconceivable that the dusty town of Mwanza that had just been declared city could have skyscrapers that are now jutting into the sky. From its humble beginnings after it was founded in 1892 as a centre for coordinating cotton exports, Mwanza is now one of the fastest expanding cities in Africa in terms of population growth and economic and social activities.

The speed of its growth was partly to blame for the recent hawkers’ riots in which at least one person was killed and several others injured. Damage to property ran into millions of shillings. It was a conflict that was caused by a scramble for the available resources.

However, despite this growth, which over the last decade has seen several skyscrapers being erected, tens of kilometres of tarmac roads built and the hospitality industry expand substantially, the city fathers, like those of Dar es Salaam, seem unable to cope with the rapid development.

For example, Mwanza city has two major roads - Makongoro that connects the airport and the city centre and Musoma, which runs from Nyegezi to the city centre. Nyamagana District, the cosmopolitan part of the city, is right in the middle of suburbs that cover a radius of approximately ten kilometres. This means that almost all of the traffic heads in one direction where more than 90 per cent of services such as banks, hospitals, markets and shops are to be found.

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9 regions to compete in Rocky City Marathon sept

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam

By Suleiman Jongo, The Citizen reporter

Nine regions have so far confirmed their participation in this year’s Rock City Marathon set for September 4 at CCM Kirumba in Mwanza.

Organised by Capital-Plus International (CPI), an integrated communications firm and sanctioned by the Athletics Tanzania (AT) and the Mwanza Regional Athletics Association of Tanzania (MRAA), is one of the major athletics events in the country.

The event’s coordinator, Zaitun Ituja confirmed yesterday that preparations for the annual event were in top gear.

“Preparations for the third edition of Rock City Marathon are in full swing. Nine regions have so far registered for the race,” she said.

She named the regions as Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Manyara, Mara, Mwanza, Singida, Kagera, Tabora and Shinyanga.

Ituja said the door was still open for other regions wishing to compete in the race. She said the event is also open for individual athletes.

“The previous two editions attracted some of the best athletes in the country, I am optimistic this year’s event will follow that tradition,” she added.

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Water project needs Sh500m

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam

By Daniel Msangya, The Citizen Correspondent

Over Sh500 million is needed to implement a project to draw water from Lake Victoria to villages facing water shortage in Mwanza Region, the deputy minister for Regional Administration and Local Governments, Mr Aggrey Mwanri, told Parliament in Dodoma on Friday.

He said most villages preferred boreholes because they were manageable, cheap to run and more sustainable compared with ambitious projects to draw the precious liquid from the lake which they buy for Sh400 for a bucket and that such projects are very expansive to maitain.

He was responding to a supplementary question by Mr Highness Kiwia (MP for Ilemela, Chadema) who expressed his concern over the project drawing water from Lake Victoria to Shinyanga Region while people around the lake including Ilemela, Kirumba, Bugogwa, Sangabuye and Buswelu wards experienced severe water shortages.

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